How to Work and Travel as a Travel Blogger – An Interview with Goats on the Road

How to Work and Travel as a Travel Blogger – An Interview with Dariece from Goats on the Road

So, you want to travel forever and make money on the road? After giving you ideas on how to travel for free and how to make money while traveling now I’m talking to people who are doing just that! Maybe they can inspire you to also make your dreams of a life of travel a reality?

How to become a Travel Blogger – An Interview with Goats on the Road

I’m so excited to catch up with Dariece. She is one half of the successful travel blogger team behind ‘Goats on the Road’!

Nick and Dariece are the Canadian couple behind Goats On The Road and the bi- weekly column on Credit Walk. Their website is designed to show others how to turn their travels into a lifestyle. Masters at making money abroad, they’ve been on the road since 2008, are location independent and have explored some of the least visited places on earth, finding adventure wherever they go.

You can keep up to date with their travels and get loads of advice of making money while traveling at their fabulous website Goats on the Road or follow them on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Thanks so much for talking to me Dariece, I’ve been reading all about your adventures around the world and they look amazing!  What made you want to become a travel blogger and how did you make it happen?

Basically, we wanted to continue our travels and knew that we didn’t want to go back to working our 9-5 (or in Nick’s case 7-7) jobs in Canada. We had to figure out something we could do to keep us on the road. We had read about other travel bloggers earning enough cash to keep them travelling. So we went for it!

Initially, we were just blogging for family and friends on TravelBlog.org, but we then bought our own domain when we decided Goats On The Road was going to become our careers. We traveled and wrote and while we were Teaching English in China, we really started to focus on our blog and put a lot of effort into it. Once we did that, everything just sort of came together and we stared to earn money from our website.

Awesome, so what do you like the best about life as a travel blogger?

There are many incredible aspects, but I think the best is being able to be totally free. We can work when we want to and from where we want to. We consider ourselves Digital Nomads and have been working around the world since 2012.

Can you describe your life as a travel blogger in 3 words.…

Freeing. Fun. Incredible.

So how to become a travel blogger? What does it take?

Patience and persistence! At first, you may think that you’re going to be popular and a huge blog right away, but in reality, it takes time. In our case, it took us about 2 years before we were making money off of our blog. The worst thing you can do is quit. Stick with it and you may be surprised at how lucrative blogging can be.

And what has been the greatest challenge?

It can be a little bit frustrating not knowing how much money will be coming in each month. Some months are great, while others…not so much! Income from blogging can be very inconsistent, but we’re working on having some full-time columns, which will allow us to properly budget each month knowing how much money we will earn.

OK, so what do you wish you had known before starting a travel blog?

I wish someone would have told me the importance of social media. We didn’t even open a Facebook Page or a Twitter account until 7 months after we started blogging. Even after we did get into social media, we weren’t utilizing it whatsoever. I think it’s such an important part of travel blogging and a great way to network with others.

You’ve seen and done so many things! Do you have one stand out highlight of your travels or a particular favourite destination ?

This is always a hard question to answer!

When we were in Mongolia, we trekked across the steppe for a week. We had our own tent, sleeping bags, all of the food we needed and together with a compass and a map, we set off from one tiny village until eventually arriving at our destination, White Lake. That was an epic trip for sure.

Our favourite destinations are Mexico, China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Turkey, Grenada…haha, the list goes on and on.

What is the most important lesson that life on the road has taught you?

We’ve learned a lot of things, but I think the one that stands out the most is to not believe everything we hear on Western Media. If we did listen to all of the advisories and warnings, we wouldn’t travel anywhere. Some of our fondest memories come from our time spent in the Middle East, a “scary” part of the world.

What about the future? Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

We don’t really like to do timelines. We just go with the flow and see what opportunities present themselves along the way! Who knows what we’ll be up to. But I have a funny feeling it will involve travelling and writing about it.

Sounds good. So finally, and perhaps most importantly, what tips would you give for people wanting to follow in your footsteps and become travel bloggers?

Don’t be afraid to follow your passions and your dreams. Sometimes, people are too worried about what they’re supposed to be doing in life, that they lose sight of all of the things that they want to do.

There are many ways to make money while travelling, and we’re living proof that if you just go for it, everything will fall into place.

Thank you Dariece for an really inspirational and insightful interview and all the best for the future.

From surfing and scuba diving instructors, to teaching English, tour guiding, freelance writing and even busking – there are many ways to get paid to travel check out the other working abroad interviews to find out how!

Global Gallivanting is still looking to interview people working abroad, if you are interested in being featured contact me

Do you Live to Travel, or Travel to Live?

   

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